LAHORE – Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) ofAfghanistan Abdullah Abdullah has said that he saw promise for goodrelations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, saying that although smallsteps had been made, they would have a “big impact.”
Abdullah’s comments came during an interview to a private news channel, inresponse to what opportunities he sees for strategic cooperation betweenAfghanistan and Pakistan. “Things start from small steps. Complaints existon both sides but there has been progress in the interactions and status ofrelations between both countries and even those small steps will have a bigimpact,” he said. Highlighting Pakistan’s role in the intra-Afghan dialoguehe said, “We are appreciative of Pakistan’s role in the Doha agreement andlater on in the negotiations.”
“I was also appreciative of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s message that calledfor a reduction in the violence leading to a ceasefire, which is veryimportant,” he said, adding that he expressed his gratitude to thePakistani leadership during his three-day official visit.
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The Afghan official said that he was leaving Pakistan with a positive imageof the country and that he had no doubt that peace in Afghanistan wouldlead to peace in Pakistan, and ultimately the region.
“As neighbours we have no other choice but to work together,” he added.
The Afghan leader said that the more both sides “address each other’slegitimate concerns and work on the basis of common interest, mutualinterest the better it will be”. He appreciated the recently approved visapolicy for Afghanistan which he termed a good development on that front.”This will be helpful in people to people relations,” Abdullah said.
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Speaking on his role as the head of the body tasked with building consensusin Afghanistan, he said that he was even willing to speak with the Talibanhimself in the interest of consensus building and for a peaceful settlementin Afghanistan.
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To a question, he said, “The issue is that I am leading the whole effortstowards reconciliation and peace. Within Afghanistan, we needconsensus-building which is important among those who are under the bannerof the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. They need to be unified. “At thesame time, we need consensus-building in the region which fortunately wenow have a broad understanding in support of peace.”If the time comes, ifit is needed that I negotiate with the Taliban leaders and they agree, Iwill do that,” Abdullah said. The Afghan leader said that he was inconstant contact with the negotiations team.
On the deal struck between him and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, he saidthat despite there being no foreign guarantor, the agreement would not fallapart.
